Blunt says gun bill's demise won't stop mental health push

3:18 PM,
Apr. 29, 2013

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Sen. Roy Blunt was no fan of the Democrats' gun control bill that collapsed in the Senate last week. But he did see it as a good legislative train - a way to hitch a ride for his bill to expand mental health care services.

With the gun control proposal now yanked from the Senate tracks, will the parallel push to improve mental health care also be derailed? Blunt, R-Mo., and other proponents say no, although some concede the path forward is unclear.

"We're not giving up," said Linda Rosenberg, president and CEO of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. Rosenberg said prospects ...